Judge temporarily exempts truck drivers from California's new gig-work law
The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID: "Just hours before California’s new gig-work law, AB5, is set to take effect, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from enforcing it upon truck drivers."
"U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, in a five-page order on New Year’s Eve, discussed the California Trucking Association’s contention that AB5 was preempted by a 1994 federal statute that prohibits states from making laws that affect the price, route or service of freight-hauling motor carriers."
"AB5, which becomes law on Wednesday, makes it much harder for companies to claim that workers are independent contractors. The trucking group filed a lawsuit in U.S. Distsrict Court for Southern California in November seeking a declaration that AB5’s strict employment test does not apply to the trucking industry."
In California, New Year Brings New Regulations for Businesses
From the WSJ's CHRISTINE MAI-DUC: "California ushered in a host of laws Wednesday—the first day of the year—that will mean major changes for consumers, workers and businesses."
"Passed by a Democratic legislature and governor, the laws include first-of-their-kind consumer-privacy protections, a change in the way employers classify independent contractors and a cap on rent increases in a state grappling with sky-high housing prices."
"For many businesses, the laws will require significant changes to how they collect data on consumers and whether they pay workers overtime or provide paid sick leave, changes that aren’t required by any or most of the other 49 states. But rebuffing the new laws could mean taking a seat outside the state’s booming market, which boasts 39 million people and a gross domestic product of more than $3 trillion."
How will California’s new laws affect you?
From the LAT's JOHN MYERS, PRIYA KRISHNAKUMAR AND PHI DO: "California will ring in 2020 with hundreds of new state laws addressing a range of issues including monthly limits on gun purchases, more protections against high-interest loans, increased pay for low-wage jobs and the end of touring circus shows featuring exotic animals."
"Gov. Gavin Newsom signed almost 1,200 new laws this year, though not all of them take effect Jan. 1. Taken as a whole, the list embodies the uniquely Californian approach to governing. Most reflect the largely liberal viewpoint of the Legislature and its Democratic majority."
Cannabis breath analyzer hits the market in 2020
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "Testing a driver for alcohol impairment is relatively easy."
"Decades of research show drunken driving equals bad driving. Standardized tests mark various levels of impairment. And because alcohol passes through the system quickly, detecting its presence indicates recent use."
"But determining whether someone is too high to drive is a lot more complicated."
In newly blue OC, Dems struggle over how far left is too far
LA Times's GUSTAVO ARTELLANO: "Emma Jenson, standing in front of over 200 Bernie Sanders supporters gathered in the parking lot of a Santa Ana office park, asked for a show of hands to see who had knocked on doors for the 2016 election."
"Few had."
"Notice that my hand didn’t go up,” the San Clemente resident said. “But things are different now. This is what democracy looks like."
Amid shut-off woes, a beacon of energy
From WaPo"s SCOTT WILSON: "After months of wildfires, an essential question in a warming, windy California is this: How does the state keep the lights on? A tiny Native American tribe, settled here in the Mad River Valley, has an answer."?
"Build your own utility."
"The Blue Lake Rancheria tribe has constructed a microgrid on its 100-acre reservation, a complex of solar panels, storage batteries and distribution lines that operates as part of the broader utility network or completely independent of it. It is a state-of-the-art system — and an indicator of what might be in California’s future."
'Bleach Blanket Babylon' says goodbye with the performance of a lifetime
Datebook's LILY JANIAK: "Most of us will never have to muster the professionalism, artistry and civic stewardship that the “Beach Blanket Babylon” cast and crew displayed on New Year’s Eve."
"If you and I are ever laid off from a job, maybe one we’ve held for decades, we won’t have to walk out of the office on the last day with hundreds watching. We won’t have to swallow all of our complicated feelings and put on the exuberant show that audiences expect — one that’s even bigger than usual, one that honors 45 years of existence and bids the world’s longest-running musical revue a proper farewell. We won’t have to somehow assure our spectators, and by extension the whole city, that it’s all going to be OK, that San Francisco will soldier on, when we ourselves are the ones who ought to be comforted, with our own, much deeper grieving to do."
Sanders raises nearly $35M in the final months of 2019
LA Times's SEEMA MEHTA: "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Thursday that he had raised more than $34.5 million in the final three months of 2019, a haul that will allow him to run an extensive campaign in the new year as Democratic voters begin the process of selecting a nominee."
"That’s a few million dollars shy of what 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton raised in the same period in that election cycle, but Sanders’ campaign notes that his fourth-quarter contributions came from more than 1.8 million individual donations and the average donation during that period was $18.53, indicators of grass-roots support."
"Bernie Sanders is closing the year with the most donations of any candidate in history at this point in a presidential campaign,” said campaign manager Faiz Shakir. “He is proving each and every day that working-class Americans are ready and willing to fully fund a campaign that stands up for them and takes on the biggest corporations and the wealthy."
SF sees 56-year-low for homicides
The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY: "San Francisco saw 41 killings in 2019, the lowest number of homicides in 56 years, and part of an overall decline in the violent crime and shootings that plagued the city just over a decade ago."
"The remarkable recent downturn in violent crime, city officials said, is the result of a strategy by law enforcement and community groups to focus resources on crime-challenged neighborhoods to stem bloodshed."
"I’m really proud of the work the city has done to invest in violence prevention programs,” Mayor London Breed said in a recent interview. “It is a collaborative approach toward keeping the numbers down and hopefully getting to a better place over time.”
Former NBA commissioner David Stern dead at 77
Sacramento Bee's JASON ANDERSON: "David Stern, the former NBA commissioner who grew the game globally and preserved it locally, died Wednesday at the age of 77, leaving behind an enormous legacy that will be remembered near and far."
"Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage and collapsed in a Manhattan restaurant Dec. 12. He died with his wife, Dianne, and their family at his bedside, the NBA said."
"Stern achieved so many things in basketball and in life, but in Sacramento he will always be known as the man who helped a small-market city keep its Kings after years of excruciating relocation talks. Kings owner and CEO Vivek Ranadivé issued a statement Wednesday shortly after learning of Stern’s death."
Region's first baby of the year born at Roseville Kaiser
Sacramento Bee's MOLLY SULLIVAN: "The first baby born in the Sacramento region in the new decade came into the world with a bang, surprising his family a month early and cutting their night of dancing a tad short."
"Georzalanda Smith, 30, gave birth to Messiah Mosa’ati Talakai Smith at 12:08 a.m. Wednesday at the Women’s and Children’s Center at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center."
"The 7 pound 9 ounce baby was born nearly a month early, shocking his parents and older brothers, Georzalanda and Jerrick Smith told The Bee from their hospital room."